Device for holding letters



' (Model) W. H. JONES'Sv. O. L LMIDDLETON.

.' DEVIGE FOB, HOLDING LETTERS; OARDS, PHOTOGRAPHS, &o.

No. 253,392. Patented Feb. 7,1882.

Wain em es.

UNITED STATES WALTER H. JONES AND CLARE L. MIDDLETON, OF FLATBUSH, NEW YORK.

PATENT OFFICE.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING LETTERS, CARDS, PHOTOGRAPHS, 8 c.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 253,392, dated February '7, 1882.

Application filed April 2, 1881. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER H. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing in the town of Flatbush, in the county of Kings and State of New York, and CLARE L. MIDDLE- TON, a subject of Great Britain, residing in the town of Flatbush, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented and produced a new and original Device for Holding Letters, Cards, Photographs, and similar Articles, or for hanging light goods or other material in show-cases, or for the purpose of holding articles used in dressingor decorating store or other show windows or places, and for holding rods for that and for other purposes, and as a toy for lifting weights, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore the use of hooks, brackets, staples, nails, screws, cords, wires, rings, buttons, glue, and cement was necessary for the purposes above mentioned and the object of our invention is to obviate their necessity in hanging or holding articles such as and similar to those above enumerated.

Our invention consists of a hollow or concave rubber cup of graded thicknesses, with attachments as shown in accompanying drawings,Figures 1,2, 3, and 4, which, when slightly moistened in the inside and pressed against glass or any smooth, hard surface until the cup is entirely flattened, will firmly adhere,'rendering it capable of holding suspended to the clip spring attached any article of light weight, and, when hung perpendicularly to the cup, articles weighing from eight to ten pounds, this power of adhesion of the cup being effected by the proportions of its graded thicknesses, and which render it, when used as a toy weight-lifter, of much greater power than a boys ordinary leather sucker.

Fig.1 shows the device in all its parts in sections except the screw B. a aa a is a rubber cup, showing the graded thickness of rubber indicated by A A, in which is embedded the screw B. G is a screw-knob. F F is a clipspring, which is closed or opened byturning the screw-knob G. E is a rod or bar, which passes through circular opening on top clipspring F F. D D is a cap or ferrule-inclosing rubber around screw B.

Fig. 2 shows side view of device in all its parts, A being the rubber cup; D, cap or ferrule; F F, clip-spring; B, screw; Gr, screwknob.

Fig. 3 is a top view of device, showing all its parts except screw B, and shows rod or bar E E passed through opening on top of clipspring F F. L is an ornamental end piece on bar E E.

Fig. 4 shows front view of clip-spring F F, showing circular opening K for screw B to pass through.

Having fully described our invention, what we desire to claim, and secure by Letters Patent, is-- A device for holding and supporting letters, cards, photographs, and similar articles, or for hanging light goods orother materialsin showcases, or for the purpose of holding articles used in dressing or decorating store or other windows or places, and for holding rods for that and for other purposes, and as a toy for lifting weights, as herein shown and described, the device being a combination consisting of a hollow or concave rubber cup of graded thicknesses so arranged in their proportions as to give the cup the greatest power of adhesion, a cap or ferrule, a clip-spring which is opened or closed and entirely regulated by he screw-knob and without automatic arrangement, a screw, a screw-knob, and a rod or bar, all adapted to the concave rubber cup, as described.

WALTER H. JONES. CLARE L. MIDDLETON. Witnesses:

JNo. J. LOUTH, STANLEY H. MAKIN. 

